Push Me Away When I Come, Don't Hold Me Back When I Leave - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: A Filial Daughter Repays Her Father’s Hidden Arrow with a Secret Spear

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Riding her road bike leisurely home, Xia Ruoming arrived at home around midnight.

The dishes on the table were still warm, with three sets of bowls and chopsticks neatly placed beside them. Unless Xia Ruoming said she wouldn’t come home, Xia Jingsong and Liu Ruoxue would never start eating first.

Looking at the living room lights still on in the deep night, Xia Ruoming felt only touched.

“Dad, Mom, I’m home.” Throwing her schoolbag on the ground, Xia Ruoming directly pounced on Liu Ruoxue, who was reading a literary magazine on the sofa, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

In her previous life before rebirth, she lived alone in a riverside villa bought by Jiang Ruhua, and the little princess herself rarely came home. Gradually, she developed agoraphobia, afraid of the emptiness of rooms too large to feel like home. Only by locking herself in the second bedroom with a cigarette could she feel any sense of security.

In this world of countless lights, none belonged to her.

The river flows east day and night, leaving only drunken life and dream-like death.

“What’s wrong, what happened, why are you crying, child?” Liu Ruoxue hurriedly held Xia Ruoming’s face, wiping her tears, only to discover that Xia Ruoming seemed to be wearing makeup and had completely changed her style.

“Nothing, I just missed you both.” Xia Ruoming still hugged Liu Ruoxue, refusing to let go.

“You silly child, you only stayed at Auntie Zhong’s place for one day, just one day apart, what will you do when you go to university?” Liu Ruoxue just shook her head helplessly, gently stroking Xia Ruoming’s back. Although she had always been strict with Xia Ruoming, she was forever the warmest harbor in Xia Ruoming’s eyes. In Liu Ruoxue’s eyes, Xia Ruoming seemed to forever be that little girl who never grew up.

In this vast world, only this place was home.

…

After being comforted by Liu Ruoxue for a while, Xia Ruoming’s emotions finally calmed down, and the family sat at the dining table.

“Mom… I told you, you don’t need to wait for me, you should eat first when I come home late.” Looking at the completely untouched dishes on the dining table, though Xia Ruoming felt warmth in her heart, she felt more concerned for her parents. Even though their health wasn’t great, they always accommodated her schedule, delaying their meal until almost midnight.

“What nonsense.” Liu Ruoxue tapped Xia Ruoming’s forehead with her chopsticks, and Xia Ruoming immediately pouted while rubbing her forehead. “You’re still a student, how can you eat leftover food? Besides, meals should be enjoyed together as a family to be lively. Mom’s fine, don’t say such things anymore.”

“Okay…” No matter when, Xia Ruoming always showed obedience and docility in front of Liu Ruoxue.

“Speaking of which, April is almost over now, and the college entrance exam isn’t far away, right?” Xia Jingsong put down his chopsticks and suddenly said, “How are your preparations going? Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, Ruoming.”

Xia Jingsong and Liu Ruoxue had never put any academic pressure on Xia Ruoming, and now it was just family concern.

“Hmm… it’s fine, getting into an average 211 university shouldn’t be a problem.” Xia Ruoming said somewhat unclearly while eating.

Liu Ruoxue and Xia Jingsong looked at each other, both somewhat unable to believe that their daughter, who was at the bottom of her class when entering school, could get into a 211 university? She even seemed quite confident about it.

“Good, worthy of being my daughter who inherited my genes. If you were like your dad, there wouldn’t be any hope at all.” Liu Ruoxue seemed quite gratified. Her daughter never exaggerated, so if she said this, it meant Xia Ruoming was very confident. If they said they had no expectations for Xia Ruoming, that would definitely be a lie, which parents don’t hope their daughters become phoenixes?

“If you really can get into a 211 university, even if it’s a lower-ranked one, Mom will buy you a car as your reward.” Although Liu Ruoxue was usually quite frugal with family expenses, she never saved money at times like this, rewards were often the best way to motivate people.

Before Xia Ruoming could speak, she saw Xia Jingsong whispering something in Liu Ruoxue’s ear.

“Wife, isn’t it too indulgent to buy her a car so early? Besides, my car is still perfectly fine to drive. Give this car to our daughter, and then give me…”

Pouting as she looked at her dad whispering to her mom, with her physical abilities enhanced after rebirth, her hearing was far better than in her previous life, and she naturally heard clearly what Xia Jingsong was saying.

Actually, she didn’t mind about the car, driving dad’s old car would be fine, or even continuing to ride the broken bicycle wouldn’t matter, but money was important. After all, time was running out, and this “reward” was also the best opportunity.

“Mom, I don’t want a car, don’t buy me one, but I have another condition.” Xia Ruoming went behind Liu Ruoxue, gently massaging her shoulders, clearly wanting something from her.

Since dad made the first move, being a filial daughter also meant having justification.

“Oh? Well, tell me, as long as it’s not too unreasonable, mom will try her best to fulfill it.” Liu Ruoxue looked at Xia Ruoming with a smiling face.

“Dad has hidden 100,000 yuan of secret money behind the grandfather clock, in the rightmost wall cabinet compartment above the bed, and in the black jacket in the innermost part of the wardrobe. If I get into a 211 university, how about mom gives me half of this money? It’s much cheaper than buying a car, and mom still gets a net income of 50,000 yuan.” Xia Ruoming said playfully, then stuck out her tongue and winked at Xia Jingsong.

“What, secret money? How much?” Liu Ruoxue immediately turned around and grabbed Xia Jingsong’s ear. “Well, well, you’ve saved quite a lot of secret money over these years? Tell me, what were you planning to do with so much hidden money?”

“Ouch, Wife, I was wrong, I was wrong. I just saved some money for emergencies.” Xia Jingsong glared at this heartless little cotton jacket. “Ruoming, how could you do this to your dad? And how did you know where dad’s secret money was hidden?”

Of course Xia Ruoming knew, she was a time traveler after all.

In her previous life, after she got into university, Xia Jingsong lost all this money in the stock market. When she earned money later, wouldn’t it be great to slip her dad 200,000 yuan as secret money first?

However, whether Xia Jingsong would continue to play the stock market wasn’t something she could interfere with. She couldn’t just say, “Dad, you’ll lose everything including your underwear if you play stocks,” or it would probably turn into a live version of Street Fighter 6.

“Well, well, so you admit it, huh? You really hid so much money, are there any other places where you’ve hidden money? Tell me!” Liu Ruoxue continued to press Xia Jingsong relentlessly, making him feel nervous.

“No more, no more, just this money, and this little girl knows all about it.” Xia Jingsong shook his head helplessly, giving Xia Ruoming a resentful look.

“Good, daughter, mom promises you. If you get into a regular first-tier university, mom will give you 30,000 yuan. If you get into a 211 university, mom will give you all this 100,000 yuan, mom won’t keep a penny.”

“Great!” Xia Ruoming rummaged through her schoolbag, took out paper and pen, “Mom needs to sign and seal it, this money is given voluntarily by you both, you can’t go back on your word. Dad too, this money is given to me by mom, you can’t give me trouble about it.”

“Alright, alright, we’ll do as Ruoming says.” Liu Ruoxue smiled and signed the agreement, while Xia Jingsong collapsed lifelessly in his chair, his hand pressed by Liu Ruoxue to make a fingerprint.

Voluntary? You call this voluntary? Could I have refused?

Ah, he had originally harbored a small hope of getting back at least part of the money from his daughter, but unexpectedly, his daughter saw through that too.